万花筒 (wàn huā tǒng) — kaleidoscope (optical toy); (figurative) a cons…

Definition

A 'kaleidoscope' (the optical toy). Figuratively, it describes anything rich, colorful, and constantly shifting — like life or a city's culture.

noun

kaleidoscope (optical toy)(figurative) a constantly changingcolorful scene or experience

Measure word · 个

Examples

万花筒，。
Hái zi ná zhe wàn huā tǒng, kāi xīn dì zhuàn lái zhuàn qù.
The child held a kaleidoscope and happily turned it around.
万花筒。
Zhè ge chéng shì de wén huà jiù xiàng wàn huā tǒng yí yàng fēng fù duō cǎi.
The culture of this city is as rich and colorful as a kaleidoscope.
万花筒，。
Rén shēng shì yí gè wàn huā tǒng, měi shí měi kè dōu zài biàn huà.
Life is a kaleidoscope, changing every moment.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

万花myriad flowers

万wànmyriad花huāflower

偏正Modifier + head

筒tǒngtube

万花 'myriad flowers' and 筒 'tube' name a toy that shows changing patterns.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 萬; 万 is its simplified writing.

For 万, the form 萬 was originally a picture of a scorpion, later borrowed for its sound to write 'ten thousand'; the scorpion picture is unrelated to that number.

Open 万 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

艹化花

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

化

化huà花

Same sound today

花 pairs 艹 (grass; plant) with 化, which gives the sound.

Open 花 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.